Surface Modification of Niobium (Nb) by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) Nano-Oxidation Process

Abstract
Nanometer-scale surface modification of niobium (Nb) thin films deposited on SiO2/Si substrates was investigated by means of the atomic force microscope (AFM) nano-oxidation process for the first time. The modified structures were fabricated by applying negative bias voltages to the metal-coated conductive cantilever in air. The size of the modified structures was well controlled by changing the scanning speed of the cantilever and the applied negative bias voltage. By changing the negative bias voltage from 7 V to 20 V, the size of the modified structures was controlled, ranging from 18 nm to 93 nm in width and 0.5 nm to 5 nm in height. Through Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis, it is revealed that the modified structure consists of Nb and a large amount of oxygen (O), suggesting the formation of Nb oxide.

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